SGA: The Great Tau'ri War Pt 1: Darkness Rising
by Ariston-1
Summary: After the arrival of Atantis on Earth, news of the Stargate Program is broken to the public. in 2013 The Great Tau'ri War spreads across Earth as nations fight to control the Ancient City of Atlantis as the war spreads off-world. AU
1. Chapter 1

**_Previously On  
_****_Stargate Atlantis…_**

**_In 2009..._**

_After being informed of a ZPM powered Hive ship heading for Earth, the Atlantis Expedition send Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard back home threw the Stargate, during which time the City Ship Atlantis will make it's way back to Earth to assist, but as the Wraith cruiser exits hyperspace between Galaxies Earth sends Apollo and Sun Tzu to stop them, but are quickly disabled by the Huge and Powerful wraith ship._

_Quickly the Wraith ship appears above earth as Lt. Colonel Sheppard and a squadron of F-302 fighter interceptors shoot down the approaching Wraith Dart class fighters. After the destruction of the Ancient Drone Weapon moved from the Antarctic site to Area 51 John Sheppard Invades the hive ship with his F-302 intent on detonating a Nuclear weapon inside the cruiser. With the assistance of his team and a small squad of Marines, John Sheppard managed to destroy the Wraith Hive ship but not before the arrival of the City Ship Atlantis entered Earth's orbit and engaged the enemy ship. Quickly escaping the Hive ship through a Pegasus Galaxy Stargate onboard the vessel, yet Atlantis was thrown into the atmosphere of the planet Earth. Quickly the crew managed to regain control as Dr Carson Beckett and lands in the Pacific Ocean, subsequently cloaking and secretly moving Atlantis to the coast off San Francisco…_

_Moments after the arrival of the City Ship Atlantis near San Francisco a huge presidential naval blockade was assembled around the vast alien designed city. Cloaked 'Puddle Jumpers' ran back and forward between the city and Stargate Command as scientists and engineers where sent to examine the city, for it's return voyage to the Pegasus Galaxy, also for any technology that could be utilised for the SGC purposes._

_Yet after weeks of stress and strain on the remaining ZPM power units they began to fail one at a time until finally the vast alien city decloaked off the coast of San Francisco, panic ran threw the civilian population as rumours of an Alien invasion began to run threw the planet's population like a wildfire until finally the President of the United States was left with no choice but to reveal the Stargate Program to the rest of the world, panic was replaced with a sense of wander as some of the SGC records where made public until one fateful moment when a small explosion rippled threw the Ancient City of Atlantis, a terrorist attack or a jealous country attempting to destroy Atlantis before the United States took any more advanced technology…_

**_In 2013..._**

_War has ravaged the planet Earth as jealous countries attempt to take over the Stargate Program from the United States, using the advanced technologies procured threw the Stargate the United States and it's allies attempt to hold off against the Human Alliance, a coalition of countries created to take the Stargate for all mankind_

**_Stargate: The Great Tau'ri War_**

Swiftly the F-302-C type fighter interceptors screamed threw the skies as they proceeded with the mission of fighter escort for the Puddle Jumper carrying the delegation to the City of Atlantis from the Pentagon. Since the arrival of Atlantis four years ago Stargate Command had become redundant as all SG teams had left earth threw the Atlantis gate. Yet the war that had rocked the planet was beginning to leave it's mark on the Tau'ri as less and less teams where sent off world. Since the Human Alliance has taken control of a BC 304 and it's compliment of fighters six months ago losses had begun to raise as every Tau'ri vessel had been called back to defend loyal Tau'ri holdings.

"Red Two, this is Red Leader… approaching Atlantis, stand by to break off and return too the barn, over"

"Red Leader, confirmed. Atlantis you have control in three… two… Picking up approaching fighters. 302-A type… approaching form our six o'clock at 30'000, mach two plus"

The F-302-C was a smaller one manned craft designed by the Chinese Government and built by the American Lockheed Martin and Boeing Companies under 'Ultra Top Secret' Status, the F-302-A was the first generation of the ship designed by the American Stargate program, much slower and not as well armed, however the plans had been stolen over two years ago from a holding facility in the Pentagon. It is believed the Human Alliance has Built F-302-A type in high numbers, however the under powered and under armed it is still a formidable weapon system when in the hands of experienced pilot.

"Jumper Nine, activate your cloak and hug the water all the way too Atlantis, we'll take care of these guys"

"Red Leader you are out numbered and out gunned. Do not be stupid, allow us to help"

"Negative Jumper Nine, your drones are valuable and almost depleted… proceed as ordered. We'll take care of this"

Quickly the two F-302-C's climbed at almost full burn as the enemy fighters launched a full barrage of missiles at the helpless ancient ship below, quickly Red Leader tipped her wings and screamed after the missiles with the newly installed 'Miniature Asguard Beam Weapons' firing. With all weapons destroyed the Pilot climbed quickly and rejoined her wingman as she locked her weapons on the approaching enemy fighters.

"This is Red Leader to approaching fighters, break off your attack or we will be forced to open fire…"

"Negative Red Leader, this is Foxbat One. It is you who will stand down… surrender the Atlantis City or be fired upon. You are out numbered and your Ancient City has no weapons left"

"Foxbat One, Red Leader… You have illegally entered United States Airspace, Leave or be fired upon…This is your final warning"

"You Americans like to say… Screw you, Red Leader"

Smiling Red Leader looked at her scope as all fighters where targeted. Quickly she deactivated the intership channel to the enemy fighters and fired rapidly. Explosions ripped threw the skies as the lead enemy fighters where destroyed by bolts of energy from the main weapons systems, almost instantly the remaining enemy fighters winged over and screamed for the ocean's surface as the two defending craft followed with ease, rolling and banking from side too side the enemy fighters could not shake the attack of the more advanced hybrid fighters.

"Red Two, I got him on the left…"

"And I got him on the right, on your mark Red Leader"

"Three, Two, One Splash them!"

From the internal weapons by under the pilot's seat a missile screamed from each of the enemy fighters, almost instantly flares deployed from the old F-302-A class fighters as the missiles screamed away in the opposite direction from the aircraft, smiling slightly Red Leader looked at her controls.

"Looks like they made some upgrades. Lets see if they know this one… Red Two break off and head for the deck at the following co-ordinates, make it look like you have engine trouble"

"Received, On my way…"

With a smile Red Two nosed up and pulled away as Red Leader fired rapid bursts of energy at the two enemy fighters, almost instantly a large concentration of targets appeared on her sensors scopes, her eyes widened as she saw the identification on her sensor readout. 'Warning Approaching Craft F-302-A Class fighters. Evade! Evade!'

"Ahh Crap!" She cried out. "Red Two, Red Two break and run to Atlantis, The Jumper should be safe behind it's shields. I'll keep them busy as long as I can"

"Not with out you"

"That is a Damned Order Ensign. GO NOW!"

Pushing her atmospheric engines to maximum she screamed towards the approaching craft and fired every weapon she could power-up, explosions could be seen as the large group of enemy fighters returned fire, rolling her fighter in a cork-screw she avoided as many missile as possible until she pulled nose up while more weapons flew her way. Suddenly a large black shadow appeared over her as a voice called out over her speakers.

"Attention approaching fighter, this is the USS Daedalus, you are targeting an Allied fighter… leave now or we will be forced to open fire"

The welcoming voice of the Daedalus commanding officer made her settle slightly, although she was still a sitting duck for any enemy fighter that wanted a quick victory and make a name for his or her self.

"Daedalus to Red Leader, you are clear to land in bay one…"

"Negative Daedalus, not while those fighters are still out here. Launch an attack wing to join me, or do I have to do all of this myself?"

"Red Leader you are crazy… launching squadron now"

As she looked up towards the huge Spaceship / Aircraft carrier F-302-B fighters launched out of both bays. Clearly out numbered the group of enemy fighters began to turn tail as the Daedalus attack wing joined the escort fighter as it screamed towards the fleeing aircraft.

"Daedalus Squadron this is Red Leader, form up on my wing and follow me in over…"

"Roger that Red Leader, forming up"

With the assistance of the squadron from the Tau'ri cruiser, the enemy fighters where defeated swiftly, although some of the fighters escaped most where shot down over the water. As the Daedalus squadron returned too the mother ship for refuel and rearming the solo pilot Red Leader made her way towards the vast Atlantis city before her. Finally she landed on the south peer.

She was quickly escorted to the command centre of the city, the new Stargate Command for Earth. Although the Giza Stargate is still housed at Cheyenne Mountain, the Pegasus Galaxy gate is now being used by Homeworld Command as the new base of operations for the Stargate Program. Slowly she entered the huge control room and looked around, her eyes drifted to the large circular Stargate in the room. 'Whoa!' She said under her breath.

"Yeah, it does have that effect on people. Welcome to Atlantis, I am…"

"Brigadier General John Sheppard, Commander of the Atlantis facility. You took over command of this base after the explosion that started this conflict, and after the deaths of General Hank Landry, General Jack O'Neill and several high ranking officers not to mention Richard Woolsey, Teyla Emmagan, and Doctor Jennifer Keller. Some say after Keller's death Rodney McKay died also, at least in side that is"

"Do I know you Lieutenant?"

"No sir… but I know you… I actually know a lot about you sir, you see my brother was assigned to Atlantis during the Wraith War, he told me a lot of… interesting stories about you sir"

"What is your name Lieutenant?"

Smiling she stepped forward and spoke aloud for all too hear.

"Lieutenant Jenna Cole, my brother was…"

"Major Bobby Cole… oh my god, welcome to Atlantis"

"Thank you sir, when I found out what he was really doing… I had to try and join this program, but I wasn't accepted for Atlantis duties… instead I settled as a pilot on board the Nimitz sir"

"I see" He said slowly.

"General, may I speak freely?"

Slowly he walked down the steps and stood before her as he responded.

"By all means"

"Sir, I recognised the voice of the enemy Foxbat One. He was a British Pilot I served with a few months ago, last reports his F-35 went down over the Gulf of Mexico eight months ago. Sir if he's joined this Human Alliance…"

"What's his name Lieutenant?"

"Major Alan Williams sir, he was briefly assigned to the Nimitz as part of an exchange program"

"I see, well I assume he survived your little skirmish?"

"Yes General. How ever the next time I see him I blow him out of the skies or stars or where ever the hell he is"

Laughing slightly he looked back up at his office and then back to the young Lieutenant before him, in many ways she reminded him of himself before he took up the position as Commanding Officer of the Stargate Program on Atlantis, for a moment his attention was drawn by the approach of his head of City Security, waving him over quickly he looked back at the young officer and replied.

"Alright, stick around for awhile… check in with Dr Beckett, and then we'll assign you some temporary quarters here. You're a decent pilot, we could use you Lieutenant"

"Thank you sir, but I'd rather get back to the Nimitz sir, my C.O will be expecting my return" He replied swiftly.

"I believe we can offer you a more tempting assignment Lieutenant… Have Beckett check you out, it's standard procedure now, then report back to me in one hour"

"Aye sir"

The hour past swiftly as the young Lieutenant was poked and prodded by Doctor Carson Beckett almost to the point of wanting to punch him out, until she was finally allowed to leave the infirmary, disorientated she left the medical bay and wandered the halls until she finally found the control room, up in the main office of the control room she saw Doctor Beckett, Doctor McKay and General Sheppard having what appeared to be a heated debate about something.

"I'm telling you McKay, this is undeniable…"

"Oh really, and what makes you think that?"

"I ran the test three times Rodney… Her ATA count is off the charts"

"I'm sure she's high Carson but…"

"She's higher then you Rodney, me, even General Sheppard. From what I can tell from our files… her count is so high she could almost be considered a bloody Ancient"

"That's not possible… let me see that" McKay Yelled.

"McKay, Rodney, calm down. What do you suggest we do Beckett?"

"Well General, I'd recommend we keep her around. Not since yourself and Jack O'Neill and Joe Spencer have we found some one with such a strong ATA count"

"Well, what about her brother?" Barked McKay.

"Well, Bobby Cole was tested for the ATA gene, it seems he had nothing, from what I can tell from her military file Jenna was adopted when she was a baby, her and Bobby where raised as brother and sister"

"Of course, so keeping her around would be a good idea then Carson?"

"Aye Rodney… I'd say so. Not to mention the fact that she is a brilliant fighter pilot"

Laughing slightly Sheppard leaned forward in his chair and replied with a slight glint in his eye.

"And she's cute too, I'll see what I can do. Besides in this damned war we need all the help we can get, especially since our Drones are almost empty and the city's hyperdrive was destroyed by that damned bomb four years ago"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Eight Weeks Later…**_

Brigadier General John Sheppard, Atlantis veteran and military leader of the city since it's discovery in July 2004 sat comfortably in the chair in his office preparing for one of the many meetings he was too attend over the next few weeks, more so due to the fact that the City was now more or less defenceless since the last of the vital Drone weapons had been used many weeks earlier during an attack by the Human Alliance. Since then the job of defending the city bad been placed upon the many Rail-Guns scattered around the city which where originally used as a last resort after the ZPM was installed. Even the vital Miniature Drones used by the 'Puddle Jumpers' had become depleted with engineers taking weapons from as many of the Ancient Gateships as possible to keep a full squadron operational. However the 'Jumpers' where not the only air-based defence for the city, since it had been equipped with four squadrons of F-302-C class fighters lead by the newly promoted Lieutenant Commander Jenna Cole.

It was no secret to everyone within the city that the war was going badly, tensions within the city had arisen to almost new heights, yet the only person who seemed to be enjoying himself was the Alien Weapons Expert and Head of City Security Ronan Dex. Even when the President of the United States, the leaders of the Tau'ri Coalition and the Pentagon staff left, earth threw the Stargate he seemed to be enjoying himself. The order for the leader to leave Earth was not an easy one to give, yet being kept on a Highly Classified Planet and away from enemy attack, they would work safely, knowing Atlantis was taking every precaution possible to keep Earth safe.

Although the Civilian population d has no idea, the President had left the planet since a duplicate Oval Office had been constructed on the planet known as Genesis, a place where the best and brightest of Humanity would survive away from the death and destruction on Earth. Based on a concept by Rodney McKay the planet did not originally have a Stargate nor a DHD, since a gate was salvaged from the old Gate-Bridge and a DHD taken from an uninhabited world, the Genesis site would remain outside of the gate network with only a link to Earth and the Alpha Site.

"Damned Reports just keep coming threw…" He yelled to the ceiling.

Sighing briefly he looked at the watch on his wrist and stood slowly, his desk was as messy as always since he had taken over this command, he knew someplace in the middle of all of those papers was his notes for the up coming meetings on the Genesis site. Cursing to himself, he picked up his uniform jacket, his cap and briefcase before walking onto the upper level of the main control room as his escorts stood by the Stargate waiting for him. Slowly he made his way down to the lower level as Rodney McKay and Jenna Cole joined him.

"McKay, wanna come along?"

"No… Not really John" He said with a smile.

"Jenna, sure I can't change your mind?"

"Not a chance General besides, I'd just get in the way. Colonel Lorne and his team are the best…"

"I know, I trained them myself. All right, Cole since you are the ranking officer… I am leaving you in charge of the city until I return. Rodney how's that secret project you're working on coming along?"

"You know about that?" Smiling slightly he replied. "Almost done. It just needs a few adjustments"

Nodding slightly he turned as the Stargate activated, with a nod to his escorts he disappeared into the active Stargate surrounded by Colonel Evan Lorne and his team, as the Gate shut down McKay looked at the woman to his side and smiled slightly.

"How did he know about Lazarus?"

"Search me…" She said with a smile.

As she walked off she felt McKay's eyes run up and down her body, rolling her eyes slightly she spoke aloud.

"I didn't mean literally McKay. Alright everyone back to work, Chris… what have you got?"

Quickly a deep booming voice rang out in the control room as a large German man looked up at her and spoke with a thick accent.

"I am having trouble with the long range sensors, since the last attack by the Alliance cruiser I have attempted to track the rogue BC-304 using the City's long range sensors… yet I come up blank. They may have found a way to hide the ship from our sensors, if so we are in shit Commander"

"What do you mean?"

"If we can not detect them, they can drop out of Hyperspace directly over us… I very much doubt we could raise our shields in time" He said slowly.

"Ahh crap. Contact the Hammond; I wanna speak to Colonel Carter"

"Yes Ma'am. Right away ma'am"

"Once you have her, pipe it threw to Sheppard's office"

"Of course"

_**One Hour Later… **_

"… So forgive me for saying so Colonel Carter but we have no damned idea where that ship is. Is it possible they've found a way to hide the ship from our sensors?"

"It would be difficult Commander, but not impossible"

"I've received orders from General Sheppard before he left for the meetings. Effective immediately the USS Achilles is to be shot down on site. He would have given the orders himself… but they where buried under all this crap. I think that's why he was in a rush to leave so I would clear up these damned reports"

"That sounds more like the John Sheppard I know, I'll pass it on to the fleet… thank you Commander. USS Hammond out"

As the screen went blank alarms rang out threw the city, quickly she looked up as the Stargate activated, with no teams off world but for General Sheppard's escort duty she ran out of the office, almost falling over her feet as an IDC came threw.

"Chris, what the hell is going on?"

"Major Frank's IDC Ma'am. He is a part of General Sheppard's escort team"

"Lower the shield… _DEFENCE TEAMS STAND READY!_"

The form of a man fell threw the gate as it deactivated quickly. A blood curdling scream rang out threw the Gateroom as his legs had been severed below the knees by the deactivated gate, shock ran threw everyone as he screamed in pain while medical staff ran towards the injured officer and attempted to help. Almost instantly, Jenna ran towards him as she saw he was covered in burns and blood, as he barely managed to keep conscious.

"Franks? What happened Franks… do not pass out on me now boy! What Happened?"

"Genesis was hit, everyone is dead… they… those bastards"

Her face went pale as she looked into his eyes; he was barely managing to keep himself conscious as she replied.

"Who is… who attacked you… Where is Shepp… what happened?"

"I don't know, I think it was the Achilles, we managed to get most of them threw the gate before… I was cut off from everyone else when the Gate shut down, Sheppard ordered me to get back here. You have to help them Commander, the last thing I saw was ground troops… lots of them"

"Alright, Chris… Get Ronan up here… tell him to assemble his team, I want three Jumpers fully loaded and ready to launch now"

"Commander?"

"DO IT CHRIS, Or I will find someone who can"


	3. Chapter 3

Jenna ran back towards the many consoles that controlled the vast ancient alien city, as she leaned close to Chris to give her next orders the gate began to activate.

"Raise the gate shield"

"It's already up sir, sorry ma'am"

"You're forgiven. What's going on?"

"No idea ma'am. Wait, receiving an audio video message threw the gate Ma'am"

"Show me"

The newly installed screens changed around the command centre to the image of Major Alan Williams. Slowly he looked around as he smiled, then motioned for someone to join him. Shock gripped Jenna as a battered John Sheppard stepped into view and spoke.

"This is General John Sheppard to Atlantis, respond please"

"Sir, Commander Cole. What is going on?"

"Ahh Cole, well we find our selves in a little bit of a pickle. It seems that Former Major Williams here has taken a few hostages…"

Quickly he rotated the camera around the mock up of the Oval Office as The President, Vice President, and five other high-ranking government officials and several military officers came into view.

"… He and his team have a few demands, number one… You will leave the City of Atlantis immediately. Number two… you will turn over all equipment and materials procured through the Stargate to the Alliance. Number three… you will publicly denounce this war as criminal and place all those in a position of power under arrest for crimes against humanity. If these demands are not carried out to the letter within 24 hours, he and his followers will execute one hostage…"

"General, you know I can't…"

Almost instantly the aged and war weary face of Major Williams appeared on the screen as he pushed General Sheppard backwards.

"Those are our conditions Lieutenant Commander, and just to show our threats are real…"

With a dark smile on his face he turned and dragged a young woman too her feet, screaming and crying she pushed in front of the camera.

"Now… follow my demands or the next person to die will be the Vice President, and we will go from there"

Slowly he placed his gun to the back of the head of the frightened young woman as he spoke.

"What's your name?"

"Al… Alison B… Barton" She replied between tears.

"Alison Barton, say hello to Commander Cole. Commander Cole, say goodbye to Alison Barton"

With a quick squeeze of his trigger her head exploded as the bullet tore threw her head while her body fell to the floor lifeless, screams came from the hostages behind him as he looked back into the camera and smiled slightly as he wiped the blood off his face.

"You now have 23 hours and 55 minutes Commander, I suggest you act quickly. Every death is now in your hands Commander Cole. Have fun"

Winking slightly at her the screen went blank as the Atlantis command team looked at the monitors in shock at what had just happened before them; slowly everyone looked at Cole for her next orders.

"Holy Shit… Umm. Suggestions?"

"Commander, we should contact the Alpha Site and request instructions"

"Agreed, thank you Chris umm… Do it"

After waiting for ten minutes, the Stargate activated from the Alpha Site as a Three Star General entered the Ancient City, with a look of urgency and arrogance on his old face the General walked towards Commander Cole.

"Are you Cole?"

"Yes sir I am, Lieutenant Comm…"

"I don't care, I don't like Navy personnel, I never have, such arrogant bastards. Who left you in charge around here?"

"General Sheppard sir" She snapped.

"Why did you allow him to leave with out the proper security procedures?"

"Screw you… _GENERAL!_"

Anger swelled in her as she stepped nose to nose with the General, much to the shock of everyone around them both as she looked up into his eyes with flames burning in her own as he spoke.

"_YOU ARE RELEVED OF DUTY… LIEUTENANT COMMANDER"_

Her fists clenched as she stepped back slightly, quickly a powerful hand grabbed hers before she could respond. Spinning her head around she looked up into the face of Ronan Dex, who shook his head slightly.

"Who are you?" The General barked.

"The man stopping her from putting you on your ass" He growled.

Seeing the look in Ronan's eyes he stepped back slightly and smiled to himself as he looked around and spoke with the lack of respect he had shown from the start.

"Get that woman out of here. Anyone else got a problem?"

"No… _SIR!_" Everyone said in unison.

Satisfied he walked up the steps towards the command consoles over looking the Stargate as he fired her a snug grin.

With her anger still boiling, she left the Gateroom with Ronan at her side.

"You should have just let me hit him Dex"

"You'll get your chance Cole, trust me. Follow me, McKay asked me to find you" He said with a smile.

Quickly they walked towards the Jumper Bay above the Stargate where Rodney McKay and an engineer stood next to a jumper smiling.

"Ahh Cole, she's finished" He said with a smile.

"Cool… have you tested her yet?"

"Not had the chance. Follow me"

Slowly they walked around the back of the Jumper and entered while he continued.

"So this jumper is now fully operational. She's now equipped with the Miniature Asguard beam weapons salvaged from the 302 you ditched a few weeks ago. And in a stroke of complete brilliance on my part, I was able to retro fit the Hyperspace window generator salvaged from the 302. I know they rarely worked and rarely used but with the Ancient tech on this jumper we are able to get it to work"

"You're shitting me?" She said with a smile. "What's the range?"

"Well, pushing her to full power you could probably get to the Genesis site in a few hours. Maybe less"

A large one-sided smile crept across her face as she looked at Ronan and nodded softly.

"Dex, you up for a little Recon mission?"

"I thought you'd never ask. What about the General?"

"The… _General_ is a moron, but as soon as that roof opens he's gonna know something's wrong. We need a diversion. Any ideas?"

Laughing slightly the Engineer looked at her and raised his hand slightly.

"I got one, you're gonna love it. I could get into another jumper and activate the Stargate; the City's DHD will not be in control… I could dial say… Chulak while you open the roof, it will be enough to distract them for a moment. Before that I will tap into Chris's head set and let him know"

"It's just stupid enough to work" McKay mocked.

"Thank you Meredith…" He said with a smile. "How long do you need to get ready?"

While looking around at the Jumper Cole replied quickly.

"Give me ten minutes, I'll take Rodney, Ronan… and get Beckett up here we may need him. Grab every weapon and piece of equipment you can carry… also get a couple of Zats up here. I don't know why you guys didn't take them when you first left for Atlantis"

Fifteen Minutes Later…

After speaking with the senior staff of the city, the Three Star General sat in the office over looking the Gate satisfied at his choices, leaning back in his chair with his feet on the desk he browsed over the files on the city. Alarms rang in the Gateroom as he jumped to his feet and left his office, confusion ran threw the staff as the Stargate seemed to be dialling on it's own.

"What the hell is going on?" He yelled.

"Unknown sir, the gate appears to be dialling out" Chris replied.

"Can it do that? Shut it down"

"I can't sir… I'm not in control of the Stargate"

Chris worked the controls before him as he attempted to shut down the gate, yet with no success. From the corner of his eye he saw the alert on his laptop of the Jumper bay roof opening and closing, smiling too himself he looked up at the General as the gate shut down before a connection was made.

"What the hell happened?"

"I have no idea sir; I'm checking the system now. From what I have read in the files it should not do that" He mocked.

"Run a full diagnostic on the gate"

"General is that wise? The gate will be off-line for the duration of the diagnostic. If Williams attempts to contact us…"

"The wormhole will connect with the SGC. I have a team there now"

"Forgive me for saying so sir. But General this is an amazingly bad idea"

"Follow my orders… or someone else will"

Sighing deeply Chris looked around at the staff and nodded slightly as he activated the gate diagnostics.

In the cloaked Hybrid-Jumper, Cole sat in the pilot's chair over looking the Planet below.

"You know no matter how many times I see it, it is still a beautiful view"

"You get used to it" McKay said.

"How long before we can bring the Hyperdrive on line?"

"Ready when you are Cole"

"Alright… Hyperdrive in three… two… one Now!"

The energy vortex formed before the tiny ancient designed vessel as it leapt forward and entered Hyperspace; smiling to himself McKay looked over the readout his screen.

"All systems are in the green. ETA Genesis… two hours fifteen minutes. Lets just hope they can't see us"

"I'll bring us out of Hyperspace above the planet's north pole. It should hide us from the sensors of the Achilles. After a quick scout of the planet, we'll make our way towards the Genesis site, agreed?"

"Agreed" McKay said quickly.

"Alright, once we're down… Ronan and myself will lead the way; McKay and Beckett stay behind us. We'll have to move fast to locate the hostages, shoot first ask questions later. Equip all weapons with silencers…"

"What about the Achilles Commander Cole?"

"Well Doctor Beckett, once we secure the hostages… we'll deal with that ship last. Let's just hope the two 304's arrive to distract them"

"There's that word again… '_hope_' has anyone else thought that we are violation of the General's orders right now? And you Cole are risking a full court-martial?"

Smiling to herself, she looked back at the Doctor and nodded.

"I always knew I'd be court-martialed sooner or later. Better, get it out of the way now, besides if we rescue the hostages… it really won't matter anyway. My main concern right now is stopping Williams before anyone else is killed. If we save the President… he can override that asshole General"

Two hours fifteen minutes later…

The tiny Hybrid ship dropped back into normal space as planned about the north pole of the planet, invisible to the sensors of the BC-304 cruiser guarding the planet. Cloaking the jumper once more the vessel entered orbit and scanned the surface of the planet before cautiously moving towards the Achilles, shock rippled across everyone's faces as they saw two vessels before them.

"Ahh hell" Cole said quickly.

"What the hell? That's a Ha'tak class ship" McKay replied.

"I always suspected the Lucian Alliance was involved in this. McKay… can you contact the Hammond on a secure channel. We have to let them know"

"I'm on it. Sending message now. Attention USS Hammond, this is Doctor Rodney McKay, approach Genesis planet with caution. Achilles is guarded by a Ha'tak class cruiser affiliated with the Lucian Alliance. Repeat approach with caution. McKay out"

Slowly he looked back at Ronan sat behind Cole, smiling slightly Ronan spoke slowly with a powerful growl in his voice.

"Let's do this!"

Quickly the cloaked jumped nosed over and dove into the planet's atmosphere, the expert hand of Commander Cole piloted the vessel with ease as it screamed closer to the planet away from the sensors of the two orbiting ships. Levelling off at almost ground level the ship dodged obstacles from the planet's surface as it was piloted towards the settlement on the opposite side of the planet. After fifteen minutes of dodging trees, hillsides and artificial structures it finally touched down close to the main building of the Genesis site.

"Nice piloting Cole, but I think you left a few trees standing… not to mention my lunch"

"You're a funny guy Beckett. Let's do this!"

Drawing weapons and picking up any piece of equipment they needed, they quickly exited the cloaked hybrid ship and ran towards the settlement before them. Using hand signals Cole instructed her team on where she wanted them to go as they entered the large building where the hostages where thought to be held.


	4. Chapter 4

The Atlantis Gate had been off-line for over two hours during the diagnostic set in motion under the orders of the General, a stern stoic old man who had little time for anyone below his own rank, let alone civilians and members of the many other services and foreign military working within the Atlantis Command. From the instant he stepped threw the gate he alienated the current command staff and civilian workers, now he had firmly set himself in the office of General Sheppard, a veteran of many years service to the Atlantis Command it's self. Even going as far as changing the layout of the office it's self too his own tastes, much to the anger of the staff working under him.

"Attention, this is General Winterman. Doctor Rodney McKay report to _MY_ office right away"

From his station, Chris looked around with a slight smile as he responded into his headset.

"General, Doctor McKay is currently unavailable at the moment. He is working on… something for General Sheppard"

"I want _THAT_ man up here now! Effective immediately all, all projects are cancelled that does not have my personal seal of approval. Am I clear?"

"General, several projects are of planetary security and…"

The doors to the General's office swung open as he stood overlooking the control pit, the Command Centre of the entire city, with a growl in his voice he yelled in response.

"Mister Hilts, I don't care what Sheppard and previous commanders of this facility allowed"

Slowly Chris stood and looked directly at the General as he replied.

"General, so far you have shown little respect for this command, if you wish the co-operation of the people serving within this city. You _WILL _allow us to continue in the manner of which we are a custom too. So far you have relieved Commander Cole of duty, just about pissed everyone off by changing what ever you can, and now you are about to shut down all vital projects? If you wish for us to continue… you will sit down, shut up and allow us to continue to defend this planet and put an end to this war. Do you understand me?"

It appeared to happen within seconds as the General walked down towards the command pit and stood nose to nose with the German, his eyes where aflame as he barked back at him.

"You are out of line Mister! You are relieved of duty. And this damned close to a court-martial"

"I am civilian, _General!_" He replied with a dark smile.

"Even better. Guard, remove this man from the command deck and place him in a holding cell"

Quickly the General looked around as no one seemed to move too his side, in fact the opposite happened, three guards walked and stood behind the large German civilian while the rest of the international experts in the command centre pushed back in their chairs and placed there hands on their heads and smile slightly.

Looking around the room the General turned and laughed slightly.

"You mutinous bastards, I'll have you all shot for this"

Slowly the civilian and military personnel in the control room walked towards the nearest exit as Chris and the three guards stood before the General.

"Good luck finding someone to run this city General. As a matter of fact, Guards… place the General in custody"

"Aye sir" Replied one of the guards.

"You see General, once you removed Commander Cole of duty. By orders of General Sheppard… I was next in command. You will find you have no support here Winterman; no one will come to your aide here. Sergeant Wilkins… remove this man from the command deck. I'll reactivate the Stargate… "

"Aye sir, General, this way"

Laughing too himself the General clenched his fists as he stepped closer to Chris, quickly he threw a punch. Stepping to his left Chris avoided the powerful punch as he grabbed his arm and threw him to the floor with force.

"Next time General, I'll take your head off. Attention all hands, this is Chris Hilts. The General has been relieved of duty. All department heads report to Sheppard's office in fifteen minutes. Hilts out"

With their engines at full military thrust, the two Earth loyal starships screamed threw hyperspace towards the planet codenamed Genesis, under the command of Colonel Samantha Carter, the USS Hammond ran with her engines almost glowing as they attempted to reach the planet as quickly as possible; with mere minutes to the planet, a signal was detected.

"Colonel, I'm detecting a coded signal. I think it's from Doctor McKay"

"McKay? Let's here it"

"Yes Ma'am… on speakers"

With static, the message was barely audible as it crackled onto the bridge speakers.

"_Attention USS Hammond, this is Doctor Rodney McKay, approach Genesis planet with caution. Achilles is guarded by a Ha'tak class cruiser affiliated with the Lucian Alliance. Repeat approach with caution. McKay out"_

"How the hell could they know… Foster, scan the planet?"

"On it Colonel… I am picking up two vessels in orbit. He Achilles and… A Ha'tak class cruiser" He replied with shock.

"Daedalus, you monitoring this?"

"Confirmed Hammond. What do you want to next?"

"Let's drop out of hyperspace on the far side of the planet, that should mask our approach, once down I'll make contact with McKay and see what they are upto"

"Understood Carter… Caldwell out"

Running tactics and ideas threw her mind she couldn't imagine how McKay and a possible team arrived at the planet without the Stargate ahead of the two fastest ships in the Tau'ri fleet. However, during her time serving as Atlantis's commanding officer she had learned never to underestimate Rodney McKay. Although arrogant and annoying, he was by any standard a brilliant scientist and engineer, yet since the death of Jennifer Keller many years ago, he had buried himself in his work and experiments.

"Alright, listen up people. We're about to enter a battle situation against one of our own ships, they know our weaknesses and strengths. All available power to the shields over vital areas. Every shot has to count; I want her crippled not destroyed. The Ha'tak is fair game for shots, understood?"

"Yes Ma'am" They replied.

"Battle stations…"

On the planet below, Commander Cole and her insertion team had remained undetected as they made there way threw the complex corridors, with all power diverted to key areas, many of the lighting in the huge building had been switched off, giving the team the advantage of darkness on there side.

Since they specifically wore black clothing and darkened out their own faces they remained almost invisible to the naked aye as they walked threw the corridors. With simple vocal commands like pops, clicks and whistles rather then hand signals, they team where able to know where they were going. It was a tactic used by Ronan's people before they where destroyed by the Wraith. Taking point on the insertion Ronan stopped as he peered around a corner and saw two heavily armed guards leaning against a wall. Giving the '_halt_' signal, he knelt down and looked back as the team knelt behind him. Barely visible from the dim red lighting coming from around the corner he gave swift hand signals too his team, nodding softly Cole and Ronan raised there suppressed 9mm side arms and targeted the two men. With a double click from Ronan they both fired with deadly intent, the split second between gun and it's target seemed to slow, almost as if out of a movie as the two deadly rounds ripped threw the air and impacted between the eyes of both guards causing an explosion of blood and brain matter to spray on the wall behind them as they both fell to the floor hard, smiling too himself Ronan whispered to Cole.

"Nice shot"

"I was aiming for his heart, not his head" She replied with a wink.

"You are… crazy, you do know that?"

"Of course… that's why we are here isn't it? Who else but a crazy person would attempt this?"

Quickly and silently, they both stood and walked to the two bodies on the floor, grabbing the ankles on both guards the dragged them into an empty room while McKay and Beckett wiped up the blood and brain matter from the walls and floor.

"No what?" McKay asked.

"I guess we go that way" Cole whispered swiftly. "They must have been guarding something. Beckett, grab that scanner from your jacket. What's behind that door?"

"Nothin' but a long corridor with several cameras. What now?"

Winking slightly she reached into her jacket and pulled out a small black box, placing her finger over the only control on the device she replied softly.

"Shut down all electrical equipment"

"What?" McKay replied.

"Do it Rodney, now!"

After all equipment was switched off, she pushed the button, a low hum came from the box as all lighting shut down in the building, smiling McKay nodded quickly as he spoke.

"EMP? Nice"

"It should shut down all unprotected equipment for awhile, Beckett… what about those cameras?"

"Off-line. Nice work"

"Run, now!"

Opening the door, the team silently ran along the corridor towards the end and ducked into an open door as Cole laughed slightly.

"That was fun"

"Aye Commander, but did you have to kill those two men?"

"A Zat-gun or Ronan's weapon would have alerted any nearby guard Beckett. Anyway, had they seen us. They would have shot us first"

"Agreed" Ronan said slowly.

Smiling slightly Ronan looked around the corner once more; his eyes had adjusted to the darkness quickly.

"If I remember right, we are six floors under the '_Oval Office_' as you call it, that elevator shaft on the other side of the corridor will take us five levels up, then someone will have to climb into the wall and access the backup systems to activate the security cameras and route it to the auxiliary control room… But it's a tight fit"

"How the hell did you know that Ronan?" McKay said in shock.

"Just a guess, actually I helped plan the security protocols"

"Well…" Cole replied. "I guess that would be me, I am the smallest one here"

"Agreed" McKay replied.

With the lighting due to activate in moments the team of four ran the distance to the elevator shaft, as they arrived Ronan, Cole and Beckett began to pull open the large metal doors while McKay stood guard. As the doors opened, Cole shone her flashlight into the shaft up and down. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at McKay and sighed as she spoke.

"I suppose this is a bad time to bring up my fear of heights?"

"What? You're a pilot. How can you be afraid of heights?"

"I can fly just about anything with or without wings… but I'm not very good with ladders"

"Suck it up Cole…" McKay said.

Slowly turning to McKay, Ronan almost laughed as loud as possible as he remembered all of the times McKay had moaned about his many phobias during the long time he had worked with him. Shaking his head slightly he swung out onto the ladder next to the open door and began climbing as Beckett and McKay followed him. Taking a deep breath Cole was last as she nervously began to climb as fast as her shaking legs and arms would carry her, after what seemed like forever she finally reached the top of the shaft and swung out onto the final level of the building.

Slowly she stepped away from the shaft and sat in a corner attempting to regain her composure.

"Where is this auxiliary control room Ronan?"

"On the next level… not far from where the hostages are being held… This way" He pointed with his gun.

Cautiously the four made their way towards auxiliary control room, as Ronan and Cole entered they scanned the small room for any sign of interference. Almost the instant they closed the doors behind them the lights all over the complex blinked into life.

"I think they call that a close call" Cole laughed.

Looking around she saw Ronan pulling a panel off of the wall and looking inside as he aimed his flashlight around, with his free hand, he signalled for her to join him. Smiling slightly she stepped too his side and looked inside.

"You're not wrong, that is tight"

"Can you make it?" McKay said.

"Well, we'll see. Looks like I'll have to remove the loose clothing first"

"Allow me" Beckett said with a smile.

"Alright, but turn around people. Beckett, no peeking"

"My dear, I am a doctor, not a peeping Tom"

Smiling slightly she removed her combat vest and jacket as she replied with a wink.

"Thank you Bones"

Removing her boots and trousers she placed the equipment needed into her underwear as she slid carefully into the wall and made her way towards the area described by Ronan and McKay. Smiling to himself Rodney looked at Beckett as he spoke.

"You peeked?"

"Ohh Aye, of course" He replied with a wink. "Pink underwear, very nice"

"Cut it out you two" Ronan Barked.

Smiling slightly Ronan turned to a control as a soft voice came from the secured radio.

"I can still hear you. By the way, this place would make a great torture chamber, cramped quarters, bad lighting and… ouch!… random shocks… I'm at the junction now, what do I do?"

"Alright… locate the Alpha Ten crystal and remove it" McKay said as he looked at the screen before him.

"Got it, it's locked in place"

"Damn I wasn't counting on that…"

"McKay" Ronan growled.

"I'm on it. Alright, next to it you'll see the Beta Twelve conduit"

"The WHAT?" She replied.

"The coffee can looking thing below to the right. Pull it out and turn it 90 degrees to the right and reinstall the device…"

After ten minutes of following his instructions to the letter, she was able to leave and rejoin her team. Finally, she reappeared from inside the wall backwards, much to the surprise of the rest of the team.

"That was the most cramped hellish hole I had been in for years. If it ain't right, send McKay in…"

Falling out of the hole she turned around to face her team, gasps came from Beckett as McKay stepped closer to her with a smile on his face.

"What? What's wrong?"

Smiling slightly McKay pointed to the black vest she was wearing, only now it had a large rip across her chest half exposing both her naked breasts to the team before her, screaming in her head she pulled the hanging cloth back in place as Ronan handed her back her clothes as he spoke.

"Relax Cole, we saw nothing" He said with a wink.

"You know Ronan sometimes I hate the fact that you've adjusted to the Tau'ri speech patterns so perfectly. What now?"

Stepping behind Ronan she removed her vest and threw it away before pulling her clothes back on, from the corner of her eye she could see McKay looking over the security cameras in an attempt to locate the many hostages in the complex.


	5. Chapter 5

Stepping out from behind the large alien soldier, she picked up the torn vest and wiped her face clean of the black tactical make-up she was wearing before packing it inside her jacket pocket, after the major embarrassment of earlier she walked to McKay's side and looked at the monitors while he scanned the entire complex.

"Alright, it seems that the hostages are split in two groups… with the more valuable hostages being held in the '_Oval Office_' and the rest of them in a large briefing room several doors away" McKay said quietly.

"That will make things more difficult… I was counting on them all in one place"

"A full frontal would be a disaster. We need them all in one place" Ronan replied.

"Aye, now Commander?"

"Well Beckett, with two cruisers in orbit and a heavily guarded facility and hostages to deal with… I guess we take it one-step at a time. First we need to…"

Before she could complete her sentence, McKay's radio chirped into life.

"This is Colonel Carter onboard the USS Hammond, McKay respond"

"Sam, Rodney… I take it you got our message?"

"Loud and clear, thanks for the intel. What's your status?"

"I'm in an auxiliary control room with Ronan, Beckett and Commander Cole"

"Colonel Carter, Commander Cole speaking. We got here a little under an hour ago; so far, we've encountered little resistance. However it won't take long before they realise that someone is inside"

"Understood Commander, how did you get here so fast? I assume the gate would be guarded"

Smiling Cole looked at McKay before she replied.

"Our resident genius managed to salvage a few parts from a downed 302, including its hyperdrive. We managed to MacGyver it into a Jumper"

"Amazing… So Atlantis agreed to a rescue mission?"

"That's complicated Ma'am. What about those ships in orbit?" She said quickly.

"I see, well if you succeed I guess you'll be facing some serious charges back on Earth. As for those ships we're about to engage them"

"Colonel, Ronan. It would be easier if you could hold off for a while… we may need a big distraction when we engage… McKay, transmit a copy of those hostage data to the Hammond. We'll go after the President. Once we engage Williams and his people they can beam up the rest"

"Agreed Ronan…" Carter replied. "We now have proof that the Lucian Alliance is behind all of this. Once we beam aboard the hostages, we'll cripple the Achilles while the Daedalus attacks the Alliance ship. How long do you need Commander?"

"Give us half an hour… then start your run. Cole out"

The encrypted radio went silent as they formulated an attack and rescue plan, it was clear they where facing charges back on Earth, yet with Ronan, McKay and Beckett none military personnel, the most they could face would be imprisonment. Yet being the only military officer, Jenna would face a full court-martial and life imprisonment or worse.

Major Alan Williams looked around the replica of the Oval Office, the private office of the President of the United States, for a short time the lighting died all over the complex while General Sheppard looked at him with a cocky grin.

"You know you will be lucky to leave this planet alive don't you Williams?"

"Ohh, we have a back up plan Sheppard. I guess as we speak two of your 304's are heading to this planet… they will not leave in one piece, they will either be shot down… or captured"

"And you think the Achilles can do that? You're even more delusional then I thought"

Laughing he walked towards Sheppard and hit him hard in the face with the butt of his M-16 riffle.

"Okay, that hurt…" He said threw the pain "You're over confidence is your weakness boy"

Almost wincing at the movie reference he looked around the room at the nervous guards stood by the doors and windows.

"What about that power outage, do you think it was an accident? I bet right now your ship is ashes and a heavily armed team is about to break in threw those doors. Backup plan aside, if you survive the attack… the gate is a good walk through a heavily wooded area. What are you gonna do, run?"

Williams looked down at his hostage and drew his side arm and aimed it directly at his left leg and fired a single round at him, then slowly he knelt down next to the General and squeezed the wound hard as the General screamed in pain.

"Ohh the legendary Sheppard wit… perhaps next time you will keep your damned mouth shut. Or I'll cut your tongue out with a blunt knife"

"Major…" One of the guards replied. "We have a problem. Guard twelve isn't responding, request permission to leave this post and find them"

"Denied… send guard eight, they are closer, tell them to shoot anyone on sight. We have an intruder. Well played Sheppard… are you wearing a wire?"

Laughing slightly Sheppard looked directly into his eyes and spat in his face.

"I think it's time to call Earth don't you, General? Barker, alert the gate guard we'll be making an early call… set up the transmitter"

"Yes sir. Gate team, dial Earth and stand by to relay transmission"

Back at Atlantis, word of the insurrection against the General had spread like a wild fire around the ancient city, as guards had been placed at key points around the city, With General Winterman held in a heavily guarded and isolated room as far away from the central tower as possible many of the civilian and military staff had grown weary as the tension level in the city had arisen to an almost boiling point. Military staff had taken to wearing side arms as the possibility of further insurrection against the military grew by the minute, although the Military and Civilian staff had always worked side by side in working within the city, the civilians had taken to wearing Zat-guns for personal protection.

In the Control room, Chris Hilts and his team maintained the normal working environmental conditions as much as possible as they continued to scan as much of the planet as the City's sensors would allow.

"What do you think the Alpha Site will do when they find out that the General has been relieved Chris?"

"I expect they will send a large team through the gate, in an attempt to take control of the City. I only hope we can count on our military staff to assist us, not them"

"And if they don't?"

"Well Sarah, in the words of you Americans… _We're screwed!_"

"You did what you had to do Chris, I doubt that General Winterman was working on the behalf of the loyal Tau'ri" She quickly looked down at her Console. "Chris reports are coming in… We've lost the HMS Churchill, She's been torpedoed by a separatist vessel and taking on water. The USS Reagan is moving to assist"

"Damn it, the Churchill was a heavy Destroyer, how the hell? The Churchill was a state-of-the-art ship"

"It appears they are now using Naquadah enhanced weapons, the Churchill is lucky it didn't work"

"Yes, them an everyone else nearby!"

"Of world activation…" Sarah called out. "Gate shield is active"

"Well that did not take long"

Chris Hilts, temporary commander of the city walked towards the woman before him and looked into the screen as an image appeared before him. Shock gripped him as he saw General Sheppard being held up by a large man.

"General… what is your situation?"

"I've been better, Williams wants to speak with you…"

"I see" Replied Chris.

With pain in his eyes, Sheppard was forced to his knees as Alan Williams stepped into view and glared down the camera.

"My demands?"

"We're working on it… you have to understand this takes…"

"Where is Commander Cole?"

"Commander Cole? She was… recalled to… Washington D.C. for a debriefing, she left me in command. I could…"

"That was not the agreement, who ever you are. Measures will now be taken to explain this to you"

Slowly and with a dark smile on his face, he raised his gun to the left temple on Sheppard's head. Thinking quickly Chris replied.

"We have almost 15'000 people in this city. Do you understand how long that will take to evacuate?"

"I don't care!"

"Well you'll have to care, our fleet is currently in the…"

"Do you listen? I don't care!" He replied sharply "Use the damned jumpers if you have to"

"Even with the Jumpers, at most 10 people it would take…"

Smiling slightly Williams placed his finger on his trigger and winked one last time. Sheppard held his breath as a voice called out from behind him.

"Stop! It's me you're after. Let the General go"

Turning slightly Williams smiled as he looked at the President.

"Okay… Let this one go, for now. Bring me that guy!"

Two men grabbed Sheppard roughly and threw him to his left as President Hayes calmly walked towards the camera and knelt down with a smile on his face.

"Now, do as I say or the next bullet is for your president"

Shock ran threw the Atlantis command team as they watch while the rogue officer placed his gun to the temple of the President.

"All right, all right… but I will need some time"

"You have… three hours. After which I will shoot this man. Not funny business sir"

A dark smile came across Chris's face as he looked into the camera before him.

"No Funny Business, you have my word as a test of faith. General Sheppard is injured. Send him threw the gate for medical reasons"

"Not a chance. You now have two hours… because you pissed me off. Williams out"


	6. Chapter 6

For what seemed like an eternity, Chris Hilts the temporary leader of the facility stood motionless as he looked at the blank screen before him, with the life of the President now in his hands he had little choice but to follow the orders of the rogue officer holding the many dignitaries hostage. Yet with news of the sinking of a British warship, the war had heated up quickly almost to the point of loosing the City of Atlantis to the enemy. Many questions ran threw his mind as he slowly turned to the only other person in the city he could confide in, the beautiful young woman sat to his left.

"What do we do Sarah? I can't order Atlantis abandoned"

"I know, I think it's time we contacted the Alpha site once again… they must know what is going on"

"And if they ask to speak with Winterman?" He said slowly.

"Then… We tell them what happened, the truth"

Nodding slowly he straightened his tunic as he replied.

"Dial the Alpha site…"

"Of course… Dialling now. Good luck"

"We'll need it. Once this is over, what ever happens… thank you. Assuming we're not all arrested drinks, you and me… I'm buying"

Blushing slightly she nodded as she pressed the final control on the City's D.H.D and the large ancient ring activated, taking a deep breath he leaned towards the microphone.

"Alpha site this is Chris Hilts from Atlantis, please respond"

For a moment, static filled the speakers around the command centre as the remaining command staff looked at him nervously until finally a voice broke threw the static.

"Atlantis this is Alpha site, we didn't expect you to call…."

Quickly Chris looked around in shock as the voice continued.

"… I assume by now General Sheppard has returned? What's the status of the negotiations?"

"Excuse me? General Sheppard? Who am I speaking to?"

"I am Captain Sharpe, where is General Sheppard?"

Quickly he looked at the woman at his side as she stood next to him and placed her hand over the microphone and whispered.

"Chris what the hell is going on, it sounds like they don't know…"

"Yeah, I got that…" softly he removed her hand from the microphone as he replied. "I think you'd better send someone through. We have a code: _RED_ situation… requesting assistance"

"Code _What?_ Stand by…" For a moment, static filled the air before a reply. "Mister Hilts, it has been requested that you report to the Alpha Site… step through when ready, the general will meet you at the gate"

Slowly he turned to Sarah and nodded before he spoke.

"I guess I'm off the Alpha Site then, keep the porch lights on, I'll be back soon. And find out who Winterman is and where he came from. We should have dialled the Alpha Site… they must have bounced the signal somehow"

"Exactly… That happened to the SGC a few years ago, I know what to look for. I'll have it checked out"

Smiling at her, he left the control area and headed down towards the Stargate before nervously disappearing through the active gate for the first time.

As a search of the Stargate and dialling computer was made, a small unknown device had been found attached to the bottom of the Gate, hidden beneath the floor.

"It was found hidden on the gate, we have no idea how it got their Sarah"

"Thank you Corporal…"

Suddenly alarms screamed out throughout the control room as many laptop computers and ancient screens switched from standby mode to a full tactical display. Quickly the Corporal looked down at the nearest screen while the city and gate shields activated at the same time.

"Approaching fighters, sensors are detecting 70 aircraft of varying designs approaching fast, 30 of them are of the F-302-A and B designations"

"Damn it. Attention, all defence teams on full alert. Red, Blue and Green squadrons launch immediately…"

"Sarah, that's only 30 craft, those fighters will be out numbered two to one"

Anger swelled as she looked at the battle hardened Corporal before her.

"Don't you think I know that? We can't spare any Jumpers; defence guns will have to pick up the slack, tell the pilots to take out the enemy 302's. Leave the conventional aircraft for the gunners"

"Yes Ma'am… Permission to join the defence wings"

"Granted, go now. Good Luck"

"Too us all…"

Using the newly installed Asguard beam, he vanished in a halo of energy as the enemy fighters approached the city and made a deadly pass firing at the city shield grid, moments later the three defensive squadrons launched from the city as the shield opened slightly with enough room to allow each fighter to pass threw he protection of the force field while the highly powerful rail guns fired streams of accelerated shells at the approaching aircraft causing several of the enemy aircraft to explode in a violent display of flames and debris.

"Sarah, I've analysed there attack strategy, they seem to be targeting one section of the city's shield grid, the south pier. It seems they are using Naquadah enhanced warheads to buckle that area"

"Bob, what's in that area?" She cried out.

"Nothing, it's been off limits since the explosion crippled the city's engines"

"Corporal Bennett, did you catch that?"

"Yes Ma'am… Red three to eight follow me, we have to protect that area"

As the vicious battle continued outside the shield grid, the Stargate began to dial, as it activated Sarah looked at the nearest screen as an I.D.C was detected and a voice came over the radio.

"Atlantis this is Chris Hilts, lower the shield, two of us are coming through"

"You pick one hell of a time Chris, we're under attack… make it fast"

The gate shield dropped as two men ran threw the gate towards the control room; quickly Chris joined her side as he looked down at one of the tactical displays before him.

"What the hell? Umm… Sarah Henderson, General Cameron Mitchell, he's been ordered to take over here until Sheppard returns"

"It's a pleasure… attention Yellow Squadron, stand by to launch. Chris, contact the SGC… inform them of the situation and request the nearest friendly attack wings to assist us"

"On it…"

"General Mitchell, we have a serious situation here… the city is under attack, Genesis Site is under hostile control, we have no contact with our infiltration team, Sheppard has been shot and we have less then two hours to evacuate the city or the President will be shot… suggestions?"

Laughing slightly Mitchell looked around the control room as everyone looked at him.

"What about the Jumpers?"

"None are operational for combat sir, we can probably get three fully armed in time but that would end our stores of drones" Chris said quickly.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, someone managed to attach a re-dialler to the gate to bounce our dial to the Alpha site to another planet. We now have a General Winterman under arrest as he attempted to take control of the city"

"I see… you seem to have things under control at the moment"

A panicked voice called out from behind the three as the tone of alarm changed rapidly.

"We're loosing shielding on the south pier, the fighters are getting through"

A violent explosion rocked the vast city while consoles exploded shedding shrapnel in all directions, finding his feet as he struggled to stay upright, Mitchell yelled aloud.

"What the hell was that?"

"South Pier shielding has failed, we have massive damage and flooding in that section of the city… sir Yellow Squadron was about to take off, we've lost the entire flight wing sir"

"Shut down that section…"

"We can't… we have lost all bulkheads. What the hell is that?"

"What?"

Chris jumped too his feet and wiped the blood from his ears as he struggled to walk towards the console.

"Scheiße, that's a Sub, where the hell did that come from?"

"A WHAT?" Mitchell yelled.

"He's right, it appears to be some kind of submarine, it's docking with the city. Sensors cannot penetrate the hull sir. But its big sir… estimate a landing force inside" Bob yelled.

"Why didn't sensors pick it up?"

"No idea General… from the design it seems as if they have found a way to hide the vessel from sensors while underwater. We must get people down their now"

"Agreed, Defensive teams to the South Pier. We're about to have guests… Can any fighter reach that sub?"

Chris looked down at his screen as he sat in a chair and shook his head.

"No, all fighters are engaged. General… I have an idea sir!"


	7. Chapter 7

_**In 2009...**_

After weeks of stress and strain on the remaining ZPM power units, they slowly began to fail one at a time until finally the vast alien city decloaked off the coast of San Francisco. In the vast human built city the population ran towards the bay as they look on in shock at the seemingly impossible, a large unknown city floated gracefully off the coast of the United States of America. On the Bay Bridge cars slammed into each other causing chaos and devastation on the vital artery leading in and out of the city of San Francisco, rumours had begun to quickly circulate around the many civilians about an alien visitation while the Navy maintained a huge blockade around the floating unknown city.

After her first tour on the USS Nimitz, Ensign Jenna Cole stood on the crowded beach from looking out over the alien city; whispers echoed around her as she stood in civilian clothing listening and watching the civilians until finally her cell phone beeped into life, stepping away from the vast gathered crowd she re-dialled the last known caller.

"Ensign Cole speaking…"

"Ensign, I take is you've seen the latest?"

"Yes, I'm looking at it now sir… I take it leave is over?" She said with a smile.

"How did you guess? We have a launch approaching the bay, all personnel have been recalled, you have ten minutes Ensign"

"Sir, that's…"

"I know, you'd better get running. See you soon Ensign"

Slamming her phone closed she looked around several people had began to look at her, the conversation had been heard by a few people and now a crowd had gathered around her.

"Miss? Are you in the military, what the hell is that thing, what's going on?" An old woman said.

"I don't know… excuse me won't you?"

Nodding slightly she broke into a full sprint away from the gathering crowd, she could tell by the sounds behind her many people had began to follow her threw the streets until she reached a military check point, sweating and panting she reached into her pocket and presented her Naval I.D to the guards before stepping onto the launch before her.

In the Ancient City of Atlantis, alarm bells rang threw the city as Richard Woolsey, the I.O.A representative and commander of the city rant towards the command centre as the staff ran towards their own destinations.

"_McKay, WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?_"

"Ohh, now you want my input? Exactly what I said would happen if we maintained the cloak for this long. The are dead, the city could no longer hold the cloak… we're visible and dead in the water"

"You'd better call the President…"

"He's been on hold for the past five minutes Woolsey"

"McKay, you put the President of the United States on hold?"

"I got more important things to do then talk to some old fart who…"

"That is your Commander and Chief…"

"In case you didn't notice the flag on my arm? I'm Canadian…"

Slowly Teyla stepped between the two and responded.

"Mister Woolsey, perhaps you should put this on hold for now? Your President is awaiting your call since Atlantis is now visible to the whole planet"

"Of course Teyla, as always you are right…" Quickly he activated the call. "…Mister President, as you can see we have a large problem"

"That is an understatement, what the hell is going on Woolsey?" He said quickly.

"Or Z. are depleted, we've decloaked and now visible to everyone. City sensors are still operational; we've detected a large crowd gathering on every beach and tall building"

"I had better prepare one hell of a story…"

"Mister President. My name is Teyla Emmagan… I have served as a team member on Atlantis now for the past five years…"

"I'm well aware of whom you are and your contributions to this planet miss"

"Perhaps you should tell the truth about your Stargate Program, it would be difficult to explain Atlantis's presence any other way. Considering the cover story given after the explosion above your planet several weeks ago"

From the speakers in around the city's control centre, the conversation in the Oval Office was loud, lots of shouting and yelling. Some in agreement with her and many disagreeing with her assessment until finally a familiar voice to all in the Atlantis Command centre echoed over the speakers.

"This is General Jack O'Neill, we know who you are and where you are from Miss, but you are crazy… do you have any idea what will happen?"

"Like the panic we have just seen when Atlantis appeared out of nowhere?"

"McKay, get off the line…" O'Neill yelled. "Your presence has caused mass hysteria… we've got reports from CNN of looting and riots in San Francisco. People have begun to panic…"

From the far left of the Control Centre, Dr Zelenka spoke out.

"Mister Woolsey, I'm detecting several small boats heading this way. Launched from the bay…"

"Let the Navy deal with them… Mister President, I believe that Teyla's assessment is the best way forward"

"I agree Mister Woolsey. It seems that every news station on the planet is running with the Atlantis story, we got everything from Alien invasions to a top secret military program"

"Hmmm… seems they are right" Called out a deep voice from behind them.

Slowly Teyla turned around as Ronan Dex walked towards them with his arms folded and a smile on his face.

"Who said that?" Cried out the President.

"My name is Ronan Dex… who are you?"

"Easy Chewie…" Colonel Sheppard replied as he walked up behind them. "He's the President of the United States of America, and your new boss as long as we stay here"

_**Three Weeks Later…**_

"This is the SKY World News Service…

As the incredible records of the Stargate Program is finally released to the world, we continue our tour of the city we have come to know as '_Atlantis_' I join the leaders of the Atlantis crew for an in-depth look at this remarkable ancient city. Richard Woolsey, Colonel John Sheppard, Mister Meredith McKay…"

"Actually it's _DOCTOR Rodney_ McKay"

"He's very touchy about that name" Sheppard mocked.

"Forgive me sir, Doctor… Now you have been serving with the… SGC now for many years?"

"Yes"

"Yes, him linger then me…" Replied Sheppard.

"I see. And you say this _City_ was built by… aliens several thousand years ago?"

"Actually we estimate several _Million_ years ago… it originated in Antarctica for a time but…"

"Thank you Doctor" Replied the reporter. "I see you are joined by two others? Ronan Dex and Teyla Emmagan. You are Aliens right?"

"To you? Yes…" Replied Ronan.

"Yet you look just like us"

"Or we look like them?" Sheppard said with a smile.

"So I see from some of the files released it mentions something about '_Wraith_' what is it?"

"The Wraith are a species in our home galaxy you call Pegasus, I'm sure more will be released about them at a later date…" Teyla replied slowly.

Slowly the reporter looked around the isolated room, although he had been granted access to the city, many areas where still off limits, including the '_Gate-room_' and the '_Jumper Bays_'.

"So from what has been release, this city is... and I quote 'Intergalactic Spaceship Capable of Combat'?"

"First and foremost, Atlantis is a city, capable of carrying out many different roles including defence. For instance, its internal sensors had recorded that your camerawoman is 28 years old, 5 foot 0 inches… I'll forgo her weight, and she is wearing a pink wireless bra and not a smoker. Am I right miss?" Rodney called out.

Blushing slightly the camerawoman nodded as she moved her camera up and down.

"You forgot that I don't drink…" She replied with a laugh

For over an hour, the interview spanned from the origin of the City up towards the current situation, as going as far as guiding the news crew around the city's less sensitive areas. Until finally the camera crew had to leave as the city was expecting two Jumpers with dignitaries due to arrive.

Gracefully two Lantean 'Puddle-Jumpers' approached the outer skirts of the city they sped towards their home port while two US Airforce F-22 Raptors kept formation in front and behind the two alien vessels. Finally, in the distance the ancient city came into view as the escorts peeled off while two US Navy F/Ae-18 Super Hornets took over the escort duty of the two alien ships.

"Airforce Escort, this is Naval Escort one, we have them… thanks for the assist. We'll take care of your Generals for you"

"Roger that Naval, have fun!" Called out the Raptor pilots.

"Naval Escort One, this is Colonel John Sheppard. Maintain your course and speed… keep your eyes peeled"

"On it Colonel… My callsign is Raven by the way. Not Naval One"

Finally, the ancient vessels had docked with in the city as the dignitaries began to exit the two ships. With a smile, Richard Woolsey stood waiting for them all to exit the ships.

"General O'Neill, welcome back to Atlantis. General Landry, always a pleasure sir. The rest of our guests are waiting in the briefing room, if you'll follow me please"

Smiling slightly, O'Neill looked back at Colonel Sheppard and spoke.

"Are you coming with?"

"Me? No sir, I have… some … other things to do around here"

Laughing slightly he followed the rest of the group towards the briefing room, for two hours discussions ran backwards and forwards between the V.I.P visitors until a break was called for, in order to better understand the city it was decided too give them a tour of the city. Early afternoon came as the large group of Generals, Admirals, and politicians from many countries followed Richard Woolsey, and Teyla Emmagan threw the huge city.

In the control, John Sheppard sat looking over his many reports as the large alien soldier he had come to rely on joined him.

"I thought you'd be with Teyla and the others, letting them know not all aliens are out to enslave us all"

"I changed my mind…"

They both quickly looked around as the floor; desk, walls and windows began to vibrate violently. Struggling to his feet, Sheppard ran into the control room followed swiftly by Ronan until finally a loud _Bang_ echoed threw the city as people where thrown off their feet and seats as the ground shook hard beneath them. Alarm bells rang in the control centre as staff struggled to their feet.

"What the hell was that?" Sheppard Yelled.

"I don't know internal sensors are off-line, wait a minute… systems are coming back on… Holy Shit!" McKay yelled. "We're detecting a massive explosion under the city…"

"What?" Cried out Sheppard.

"I can't get an exact reading, but it seems as if an explosion has ripped threw the…"

"The what McKay?"

"The City's Hyperdrive… I'm detecting a massive shock wave rippling out from the city. Sensors report the explosion lifted the city six feet off the surface. The Naval blockade is taking the wave now… several ships are requesting assistance. We've got reports of fires all over the city"

For three days, reports flooded into the command centre of Atlantis about the damage caused by the explosion under the city. It appeared as if the Hyperdrive it's self had been destroyed along with many key systems, secondary explosions had ripped threw the city as some of the drones had begun to explode caused by the shockwave of the explosion, and the horrible price of the explosion had become clear as General Jack O'Neill, General Hank Landry, Richard Woolsey, Teyla Emmagan, Doctor Jennifer Keller and several high ranking officers had been recorded.

It was a cowardly attack that had placed the City of Atlantis at the centre of a devastating war that had spread like a wild fire across the planet.

_**In 2010...**_

Screaming threw the atmosphere the Lantean puddle jumper cruised along side it's escorts two F/Ae-18's maintained course and speed along side the ship, since the attack on Atlantis eleven months ago, John Sheppard had been promoted to Brigadier General and placed in command of the Atlantis Complex since he vowed he would find those responsible for the cowardly attack.

"Jumper One, this is Escort One… I'm picking up two aircraft approaching, can you confirm?"

Knowing the sensors on the jumper where more sophisticated the pilot called the jumper, expertly piloted by the General himself.

"Confirmed Raven, looks like two MIG-29s on fast approach"

"Attention approaching MIG-29s, you have entered US Airspace… state your reasons"

Slowly a voice crept over the speakers in the cockpit of the three aircraft.

"You are transporting a known war criminal, surrender the vessel or be fired upon"

"Ahh crap" Raven called out. "Attention Atlantis this is Lieutenant Jenna Cole on escort duty. We're about to be engaged by enemy aircraft, request priority landing for General Sheppard's shuttle. Escort two, say with the General… I'll run interference"

Before the pilot could respond, she hit her afterburners and screamed towards the approaching aircraft, bullets sprayed out from all aircraft as she spun her nimble fighter and launched flares in an attempt to confuse the enemy aircraft and to give her enough time to gain some advantage over the two fighters fast approaching. Voices screamed in her ear from Escort Two, the Jumper and Atlantis control as she continued dodging bullets and the two fighters until finally she acquired a target lock on the lead fighter, quickly she squeezed her trigger twice as two heat seeking missiles flew off of the wingtip hard points and screamed towards it's target, the first missile missed the fighter as it avoided with expert ease only to fall pray to the second missile as it exploded behind the cockpit and blew the aircraft into two pieces. Smiling too herself she searched the sky for the second.

"Give me a break!" She screamed to herself.

The Ancient vessel was clearly the target for the second fighter as it sprayed bullets that harmlessly bounced off the makeshift shields that protected the vessel. While her wingman targeted the second enemy fighter, four smoke trails screamed towards the shuttle. Pushing her tiny fighter to its limit, she screamed towards the shuttle, narrowly missing it by ten feet as she launched her remaining flares to protect the shuttle.

From the left and right of her glass canopy she saw three Atlantis Jumpers form up on both wings and launch two drones each as the approaching fighters scattered in all directions to avoid the powerful guided weapons.

After escorting the Jumpers back to Atlantis Raven and her wingman finally landed back onboard the USS Nimitz, her display of piloting abilities and what had been called 'Pure Insanity' by a Doctor McKay, she was marched into the Captain's quarters by the Commander of the Air Group on board the ship, while still dressed in her flight gear she nervously stood as the stoic Captain read her flight record.

"Well Lieutenant, it seems you have an admirer on Atlantis…"

"Sir? I don't understand" She replied.

"Relax Lieutenant… you are not in any trouble. CAG, you may leave"

"Aye sir"

Saluting the captain, the Commander left the two alone as the young Lieutenant stood nervous about what was to come, despite his words.

"Sir, if I may ask… why am I here?"

"It seems that Homeworld Defence is expanding its F-302 program, they have selected the USS Nimitz to hold the first naval variant of the F-302... Basically its wings fold for space aboard a carrier. They wanted _ME_ to suggest eight pilots for training on the new craft, I have seven in mind. John Sheppard suggested the pilot who took on those MIGs earlier. Now against my best judgement, that's you… pack your bags Lieutenant, we have a plane on deck ready to take you and seven others to Vandenberg Airforce Base, where a Colonel Carter will instruct you and the others on the 302, after which you and your new squadron will return here for active duty as the first F-302-c defence wing"

"You want me to fly a 302 sir? The most advanced fighter on earth. If this is a joke sir… it's not funny"

"It's no joke Miss Cole. But you may want to avoid CAG; he's a little annoyed he wasn't chosen"

A large smile beamed over her face, she had heard of and seen the F-302 in combat, and she knew that every pilot on the ship wanted a chance to fly one. Saluting him quickly she turned and almost ran to the door, stopping slightly she looked back at the old Naval Captain.

"Sir, you said against your better judgement… what do you mean?"

"You're a wild card Lieutenant, you've got so many reprimands on your file then anyone else aboard ship, but you're a good pilot, maybe the best aboard ship. Want some free advice?"

"Yes sir"

Slowly he stood and walked towards her, as he placed his left hand on the door handle he spoke quietly.

"Sometimes, you tread on a lot of toes Miss Cole. I looked at the file of this Colonel Carter, she's a veteran of over ten years service at Stargate Command, she helped design the F-302 and she knows the capabilities of that craft better then anyone alive. Listen too her, follow her instructions I don't want you washing out of this program. When you return to the Nimitz, and you will… I want you to be squadron leader"

"Me sir?" She said laughing.

"A lot of people want this post Cole, make us proud"

"Aye sir"

_**In 2013**_

_**Present Day…**_


	8. Chapter 8

After a large explosion had rocked the city, Chris jumped too his feet and wiped the blood from his ears as he struggled to walk towards the console.

"Scheiße, that's a Sub, where the hell did that come from?"

"A WHAT?" Mitchell yelled.

"He's right, it appears to be some kind of submarine, it's docking with the city. Sensors cannot penetrate the hull sir. But its big sir… estimate a landing force inside" Bob yelled.

"Why didn't sensors pick it up?"

"No idea General… from the design it seems as if they have found a way to hide the vessel from sensors while underwater. We must get people down their now"

"Agreed, Defensive teams to the South Pier. We're about to have guests… Can any fighter reach that sub?"

Chris looked down at his screen as he sat in a chair and shook his head.

"No, all fighters are engaged. General… I have an idea sir!"

Mitchell, the war weary General looked at the young German man before him with a thousand questions in his eyes.

"What?"

"Sir, this place was designed as a city primarily, however we all know it can operate as an effective starship and fighting force. Granted her hyperdrive is, as you Americans say… screwed. But…"

"Cut to the chase kid. What is your idea?"

"In the event of a major hull breach and shield failure, explosive bolts line this city… if we detach the South Pier, and let it float away, we'll contain the invading force…"

"And allow them access to Lantean tech?" Mitchell yelled.

"No, I don't think so. Once cut off from the rest of the city it all tech will shut down. The naval blockade around the city can pick up the invading force"

Mitchell smiled as he looked at the screen facing him.

"Do it, do it now!"

Quickly tapped Chris tapped away at his console as the smoke began to clear in the control centre, warning flashed up on his screen translated into English as he continued to access the correct system.

"Detaching in three, two, one…"

Alarm bells rang in the control centre, as everyone in the smoke filled room held onto anything bolted down, yet nothing, silence. Chris looked down at his console in a panic as a voice filled the speakers.

"Whoops, I guess your plan didn't work. See you soon"

"What the hell just happened Chris?" Mitchell yelled.

"I don't know sir. They must have hacked the system…"

"Ya think?" Mitchell yelled.

On the South Pier, the invading force quickly established a beachhead within the city as more and more soldiers entered the ancient city, dressed in black uniforms they quickly overpowered the small security forces close by and spread out as if searching for something within the Pier it's self. One of the last people to leave the Submarine was a man in his twenties; smiling to himself, he looked around at the many bodies at his feet, some from his own attack force, and many from the security forces from the city.

"Sir, we have pushed the resisting forces back into the city. We are clear to proceed"

"Excellent, then let us begin… full search pattern. You may now instruct the men what to look for"

"As you wish sir, what are we looking for?"

Sighing he looked into the eyes of the man before him and drew his gun quickly, firing one round into his chest. With a dark smile, he looked around and replied to the soldiers around him.

"Anyone else got a question?"

Nervous eyes looked around as voices called out. '_No Sir_' smiling to himself he looked back at the open port of the Submarine and smiled as he walked deeper into the city.

"You and you, follow me. The rest of you let no one in our out. If they resist…"

"Kill them sir?"

As he turned to smile at the men behind him, an eerie smile crept across his face, almost an echo of someone they had all known or seen. As he disappeared into the vast alien city, whispers from the group began about who this unusual young man was and how he knew so much about the Stargate Program and Atlantis.

Three clicks from her radio announced to her that all parties where ready, Carson Beckett and Ronan Dex stood ready down the hall out side of the large room holding the many hostages while Rodney McKay and herself stood outside of the door to the 'Oval Office' in orbit the USS Daedalus and USS Hammond had moved into position ready to attack the two ships in orbit. Cole knew that the attack had to timed down to the nanosecond or all would be lost. Slowly she reached for her radio button, took a deep breath as she looked at McKay, and nodded, he nervously returned the nod as she slowly clicked her radio twice, and now the attack had begun.

The precision explosives had been set on each door and weakened walls to explode inwards and create a large smoke cloud inside both rooms, using specially modified night vision goggles they could see threw the smoke and target anyone holding a weapon.

Inside both rooms, a large explosion blew out the walls and doors as the attacking force burst in and fired at the silhouettes of those holding a weapon. Seeing the attack, Williams grabbed the first person he could and held them in front of himself as a shield while Cole and McKay burst in firing. As the smoke quickly cleared, Jenna looked at Williams and smiled slightly.

"It's been awhile Billy… You look good for a dead guy"

Laughing slightly he pulled his hostage close to him as he spoke.

"Jennifer Alison Cole or is it Red Leader? It's been awhile"

"Not long enough… do you have any idea how long I circled that area looking for you?"

"Ohh… waste fuel did you?" He mocked.

"Hardly. You know it's over, don't you?"

Laughing he looked into her eyes as he replied.

"Over? Ohh my dear, it has only just begun… Have you forgotten the nights we shared in each other's arms…"

Anger swelled in her eyes as she focused her P-90 at the man before her only to be stopped by his hostage, the President of the United States.

"I look at it as a… a bad dream…"

Slowly she tightened her grip around the trigger of her lethal weapon as a voice called out in her ear. Smiling she saw from the corner of her eye the hostages being beamed out.

"Whoops… forget about that did we? Besides, you're not that good"

His fingers tightened around the neck of the president he spoke.

"Your king is now in play… check mate, babe!"

Her eyes widened as his words hit her; it was a call sign he used to use when they flew together about hitting a home target. Without thinking she corrected her aim and fired, upon leaving the barrel the bullet flew straight and true towards it's target as more hostages beamed out of the 'oval office' until a spray of blood and a bone crunching sound rang out through the large room as the president fell to the floor with blood pouring out of his shoulder. McKay gasped as he ran towards the president while Williams fell to the floor with a hole in his shoulder.

Smiling Cole walked towards him and corrected her aim once more as she spoke aloud.

"Major Alan Williams, you are under arrest for treason… well and other things I'll think up later…"

Laughing Williams looked up at her as he pressed a button on his watch.

"See you soon, Raven!"

"Williams, don't do it!" She yelled.

Winking at her he and his surviving men disappeared in a halo of Asguard transporter energy, cursing to herself, she reached for her radio and contacted the USS Hammond.

"Cole to Carter, respond"

"Carter here, that's Colonel to you Commander. What's your status?"

"We're secure, however Williams and some of his men beamed out, the president has taken a round in his shoulder, request a priority beaming…"

"We've taken some heavy damage, we've lost main beaming sensors, we'll have to take you guys up four at a time"

Footsteps ran up behind her as Beckett and Ronan entered the large office, quickly Beckett ran towards the president and began to check over his wounds.

"Mister President, forgive me for what I had to do"

"Not a problem miss… it's not the first time I've been shot. Next time, aim a little higher"

"Yes sir, I will sir" She said with a smile. "Hammond, beam up Doctor Beckett, the President, Sheppard and McKay…"

"Now wait just one minute…" Sheppard yelled.

"General, forgive me for saying so sir. But you are in no condition to walk… We'll join you shortly. Besides, we can't leave the jumper here. The Hammond will take you to the nearest safe planet with a gate… Hammond, status on the enemy ships?"

"The Ha'tak is dead and burning… Achilles jumped into hyperspace, Daedalus is in pursuit"

Smiling slightly Cole looked at the President; before he beamed out, he nodded to her in thanks before she was left in the office with Ronan.

"Well that could have gone worse…" Ronan said.

Laughing slightly she looked around taking in the full vision of the large office, the off-world seat of power for the United States Government. Slowly she turned and walked towards the exit as a loud voice boomed through the complex.

"Warning: Self destruct activated…" Called out the Computer.

"It's worse!" She yelled.

"Self destruct in five minutes…"

Slowly the computer called out the countdown as she looked around for an exit; they both knew it would take ten minutes to exit the building on foot.

"Ahh… Colonel, we have a problem. The self destruct has just activated, request a beam out"

"We've lost our back-ups Commander… Transporter is off-line"

Laughing too she looked at Ronan as he looked at her, confused.

"Don't you see the irony Dex? We got five minutes before this building is ashes… it will take a little over ten minutes to get out, even at a full run. And our only escape is damaged"

Ronan laughed slightly as he looked around the room.

"We're seven levels up right? We jump!"

"Are you crazy Dex, the fall will kill us… then again so will the explosion. Wait a minute, I got an idea… help me move that desk"

With a questioning look he walked towards the large desk and dragged it away from the window as the computer counted down the time to detonation, it was either anger or just out of annoyance as Ronan drew his weapon and shot the speaker counting down the time to destruction.

"Thanks, it was beginning to piss me off"

Quickly she reached inside her jacket and pulled out the life signs detector, stepping behind the desk she ducked down as Ronan stepped to her side and sat beside her. Moments later, a loud hum filled the room as a large shadow cast over the window behind them.

"Cover your ears Dex… this is going to be loud!"

"What?"

"Do it… NOW!"

She quickly pushed a button on the device in her hands and covered her ears as a series of loud explosions filled the room along with glass and debris, as the smoke cleared a large hole could be seen where the window once stood, smiling Cole brushed some glass off her shoulder as the Hybrid Jumper hovered in front of them. Tapping at the controls it turned 180 degrees as the back ramp opened slowly. Taking a step back, they both stood ready to jump into the hovering vessel before them.

"On three?"

"On three. One, two… Three"

They instantly both broke into a sprint, jumped into the back of the hovering vessel, and landed with a hard bang into the back of the chairs, laughing aloud Ronan looked back at the closing door behind him as he sat up.

"Shall we do it again?"

"Not a chance" She laughed.

Quickly they both stood and climbed into the two chairs as Cole piloted the vessel away from the exploding building behind them and climbed out of the atmosphere towards the awaiting USS Hammond, as clearance to land in the port hanger was given she slowly piloted the vessel into a safe landing and took a deep breath.

"You do realise that you could be up on charges now?"

"Yes. Yourself, McKay and Beckett are safe… I was mission lead and the only military officer. I expect an armed security force to take me into custody the instant I step out of this jumper…"

Slowly she reached into her jacket and pulled out a small piece of folded paper and handed it too him.

"… I was hoping you'll see this get to its addressee once we reach earth"

"What is it?"

"To my dad, he'll know what to do with it"

"I'd be honoured" He said with a low whisper.

As they exited the vessel, eight heavily armed security officers stood with weapons aimed at her as Colonel Carter stepped close to them.

"Ronan, get out of here. Commander, I have to place you under arrest. Please, place your weapons on the ground"

"Yes Ma'am"

An hour past as the USS Hammond leapt into Hyperspace and set course for Earth, although she had assisted in the rescue of the many hostages, she had still disobeyed orders and stolen US Government property, and she had to answer to the those charges. Her only hope was the generosity of the President and the many Generals and foreign dignitaries she had helped to save.


	9. Chapter 9

The highly organised and heavily armed invading force had swept through the South Pier of Atlantis with deadly efficiency as the overwhelmed security force had been ordered to pull back and seal off the area, the bombardment of the city shield had continued as more and more enemy fighters had joined the battle while the overworked F-302 pilots from Atlantis and the Aircraft carrier permanently based around the city had launched every fighter they could get airborne. The vastly out numbered loyalist fleet continued to defend the vital ancient city as the fleet took hits from aircraft and approaching gunboats. It appeared as if the main target was Atlantis, yet the USS Nimitz had taken a beating from the enemy squadrons and ships as its flight deck burned out of control. Since the attack from Anubis's fleet many years ago the aging carrier had shown a weakness that was being exploited by the enemy until finally a large explosion ripped through the carrier and it began to lean slowly to the starboard side. On Atlantis Mitchell looked on in shock as he screamed into a microphone before him.

"Atlantis control too all fighters, protect the Nimitz…"

"Understood" Called out a voice.

More and more explosions ripped through the carrier as it leaned more violently to starboard as men and equipment slid off the burning flight deck into the freezing water.

"Ohh shit!" Mitchell cried out.

Slowly the huge and powerful vessel began to loose the battle and slip under the waves as the first aircraft carrier in decades had been sunk by enemy fire. One last explosion ripped the superstructure of the vessel in half as it sighed its last breath and disappeared forever beneath the waves. Shock rippled threw the fleet of ships and aircraft as the unbelievable sight gripped everyone as thousands of sailors had lost their lives in front of them. Yet now it seemed to everyone as if they had a new reason to fight harder then before, vengeance.

"Chris… how many drones do we have left?"

"If we can take some from the jumpers… I'd say a little over thirty sir"

"Do it! I want those enemy ships to follow the Nimitz… blow those bastards out of the water!"

"With pleasure sir"

Fifteen minutes later, the last remaining ancient drones screamed out of the city, each one independently targeting an enemy ship and tearing huge holes in the hull as each one exploded and slipped under the surface of the water, with a deep sigh the old balding man with the vital ancient gene sat up from the chair and looked around. He knew what he had just done, used the last of the cities weapons against the enemy. With the exception of the many rail guns around the city, it was defenceless once again.

"Nice work Joe" Chris said slowly.

"Yeah… when I said I was 'their' to O'Neill this wasn't what I had in mind"

"I understand. We should get you too safety, those boarding teams are getting close"

"Of course"

Quickly the German lead the Indiana barber through the city towards the only safe location, the huge Gateroom, he had been to Atlantis twice since it's reveal to the rest of the world, yet every time he arrived, it still held a sense of wander and amazement for him. Although he had been to Stargate Command on several occasions, seeing the large alien city was still an adrenalin rush for him. Slowly he walked towards the office now being occupied by General Sheppard, Colonel Carter's one time replacement as Leader of the legendary team known as SG-1. Smiling Sheppard stood and extended his hand in greeting, a gesture that was returned by the aging man.

"Nice shooting Spencer"

"Thank you General. I just hoped it wouldn't come to that. Have any crew been saved from the Nimitz?"

"Yes, I just got reports that over 300 of the crew had been pulled out of the water"

"300? Out of almost 6'000?" He sighed.

"Unfortunately yes… I just received word from Sam Carter, the mission was successful"

Although the Airforce was not in the habit of disclosing classified information to civilians, Joe Spencer had become a special case to the SGC since he knew more about the Stargate program then most of the highest-ranking officers due to his link with Jack O'Neill many years ago. In many ways he had become an unofficial part of the Stargate program and since the Civil War started he was a highly sort after person on all sides.

"Ohh thank god, I assume everyone is fine?"

"John Sheppard and the President had been shot, but nothing serious. The Hammond should be on its way to home port as we speak"

"Request permission to great them when they transport in sir?"

"Of course… I'll let you know. Perhaps you should stay in the control centre for the time being Joe. You're a valuable asset we can not afford to loose"

"As you wish, thank you Cameron"

Nodding slightly the unusual little man left the office and slowly walked towards Chris as he sat at a console.

"Can I do anything?" He said slowly.

"We're actually covered for the time being sir… But you could monitor the Naquadah generators, let us know if anyone comes near them"

"Thank you" He said with a smile.

Lead by the young man, the invading force swept threw the pier and crossed into the main section of the city, with little resistance they walked calmly around corners and down long darkened corridors with only the lights on their weapons to light the way, looking down at a small sleeve mounted screen he held up his hand to signal to his men to stop. Using standard military hand signals he motioned for his team to spilt into three groups, with each group taking a different route they would eventually meet up back at the south pier once they had what they where looking for. Slowly he and his small team of four, including himself stealthily crept through the city until they reached a guarded door. Looking back, he signalled once again to his team.

"Listen up, three S.F.s guarding that door, Gemma you know what to do. Tommy, Bill keep your head in the game"

"Aye sir" They whispered.

Quickly Gemma removed her jacket and placed her pistol in the back of her trousers as she walked slowly towards the two guards with a panicked look on her face.

"Stop, this is a secured area miss. We have orders to shoot anyone who approaches"

"They're coming this way… I managed to get away"

"Who is?" A large guard said.

"Santa, who do you think? The bad guys. Fifteen of them heavily armed, I think they saw me. Please help me!"

"Who are you?" The second guard said.

"Gemma Wilkinson… I was transferred her last week with my dad, they shot him…" Tears began to flow as she stepped closer to the three men. "… Dad was just an Engineer, and they shot him"

Footsteps echoed around the corner too their right as she stepped behind a large guard smiling slightly, as lights began too appear around the corner, the three men drew their weapons and aimed them down the long corridor as she reached into her pockets and pulled out two small metallic tubes. Quickly she reach up and injected two of the guards in the neck, as they fell she reached for her weapon and fired at the third guard. As the bullet tore into his neck it exploded as his body fell to the floor.

"All clear!"

Quickly the remaining three of her team stepped around the corner as the young man laughed slightly as he spoke.

"Nice work Gem, but I said keep one of them alive. We need his hand print to activate the lock on the damned door!"

"Not a problem" She said with a dark smile.

As the three approached her she reached into the bag thrown too her and pulled out a large knife, quickly she picked up an arm of one of the guards and severed his left hand with one strike. With a large smile, she waved the hand at the team as she replied.

"Bingo. One hand"

"You're sick, you know that right?" He replied.

"Ohh is that why you married me?"

Walking past her, he winked as he whispered.

"Amongst other things babe"

Placing the hand on the locking mechanism of the large door, it slid open. Before they opened a second team approached as the young man stopped and yelled.

"Secure this area, this won't take long"

"Aye sir!" One man yelled.

Finally, they had reached one of the objectives of their mission, a large computer core that controlled a long forgotten piece of Ancient technology, a technology that was only heard of in whispers around the campfire while marshmallows had been toasted over the open flame. A technology rediscovered by the Atlantis expedition many years ago and deemed too dangerous to use again. Quickly the young man reached into his bag and pulled out a small laptop computer and plugged it into the main computer, quickly the program on the laptop activated and began to download the information hidden in the archives.

"How long will this take Jack?" Gemma said slowly.

"Depends on how much information is stored in the mainframe. Anything from five to fifteen minutes"

"You've gotta be kidding me?" She said quickly.

"Nope!"

"Jack I hope this thing is worth it"

"It will be, trust me babe… this is gonna be great"

The USS Hammond ripped through hyperspace at maximum speed towards earth while the Daedalus pursued her sister ship the Achilles, stolen by the Alliance and turned against it's creators in a bloody war designed to rip earth apart. Placed under guard in empty quarters Jenna Cole sat reading her report once again as two heavy knocks hammered on the guarded door.

"Umm… enter?"

The large heavy door swung open to reveal the last person she expected to see.

"Mister President?"

"Commander Cole, may I speak with you?"

"Umm, of course sir. Please forgive the mess… it's taken me ages to write this damned report"

"I understand…" He said as he entered. "I was military before I entered politics"

"Of course sir. How is your shoulder?" She said with concern as she stood to attention.

"I've had worse. I want to thank you for saving my life"

"No thanks needed Mister President, it is my job sir" She replied slowly.

"No Commander, you and your team went above and beyond the call duty. I have spoken with General Sheppard and Colonel Carter. All charges have been dropped against you and your team"

A large smile ran over her face as her entire body sighed with relief.

"Speaking of General Sheppard sir, how is he?"

"Your doctor Beckett says he will be up and around in a few days, however he will have some difficulty walking for awhile"

"I see. Thank you for your generosity sir. That must not have been easy"

"Both Carter and Sheppard agreed you did your duty. Although you stepped on many toes, some people may be pissed off. You have my full backing Commander, come on. Colonel Carter is expecting you on the bridge"

It was only when she relaxed further she realised she had removed her jacket, either the President Hayes was to polite to mention anything, or he thought it was simply funny, she was stood before him topless. She had forgotten she had removed her vest at the Genesis facility earlier when it was torn. Blood flowed to her cheeks as she laughed nervously and grabbed her jacket.

"S-sorry sir, I forgot"

Smiling slightly he turned his back and left the room as he replied.

"No problem, you made my day Commander"

Quickly pulling on her jacket, she ran towards the President and escorted him to the bridge of the battle cruiser where Colonel Carter, Doctor McKay and Ronan stood taking in front of a monitor. Slowly McKay turned to the approaching commander and laughed as he spoke.

"You can't resist embarrassing your self can you Commander?"

Blood once again ran to her face as she spoke quickly.

"You saw that?"

"Everything… thank you Cole" Ronan replied.

"Well… erm Commander. Welcome back to the bridge" Carter laughed.

"Thank you Ma'am. I apologise for… Ahh why the hell should I? We're all adults. Well maybe not McKay"

Laughing, Ronan tapped his old friend on his back, as she looked around shocked at what had been said about him. Slowly Cole walked past him and whispered in his ear in a mocking tone.

"30-B before you ask McKay"

A loud male voice called out from the far side of the bridge that took everyone by surprise.

"Colonel Carter… I'm getting a distress signal from…"

"From who Major?" Carter replied.

"The Alpha Site Ma'am. They are under orbital attack from two Lucian Alliance ships"

"What?" Yelled the President.

"Confirmed sir. We're the closest ship…" The Major replied.

"Battle Stations. Alter course for the Alpha Site. All weapons and shields to full power. Mister President, we'll have to drop you off later"

"I understand Colonel. What can I do to help?" He asked quickly.

"Keep your head down, Major. Inform Atlantis SG-19 we'll be late dropping off the President's party. Any other ships in the area?"

McKay quickly ran to a console and looked over the console as he spoke aloud.

"The Sun Tzu is thirty minutes away; we can make it in fifteen"

"Signal them to make way to assist; we may need the extra firepower. Mister President, you'd better get below. Sickbay is the safest place. McKay take him please, Cole get down to the 302 bays take command from down their"

"Yes Ma'am" She replied quickly.

"Ronan, prep a landing team"

"Of course"

Quickly the large Tau'ri vessel changed course for the battleground that had become Earth's Alpha Site, the off-world command for the Stargate Program.


	10. Chapter 10

The large Tau'ri vessel appeared out of the blue and white vortex of energy as it exited hyperspace above the classified planet where the Alpha Site had been located safely for many years, in many ways it was a smaller version of the SGC with SG teams operating secretly out of the base since it's founding many years earlier.

At full military thrust the USS Gen G. Hammond slipped into orbit above the facility at full battle stations, it's powerful shields protecting the hull while all primary and secondary weapons fully charged and loaded ready to defend the Tau'ri base, yet the vessel was alone in orbit with the exception of wreckage of three F-302 fighters that must have been launched during the attack. From orbit large craters could be seen as the bridge crew looked on in shock.

"Oh my god" Carter said slowly.

"What the hell happened, Is that…?"

"What's left of the Alpha Site Major" Carter replied slowly. "McKay, can you detect any life signs?"

"Too much interference… the sensors can't cut through it"

"Asguard beams?"

"Still off line Sam. I got a team working on it now"

"Work faster McKay. Looks like we'll have to do this the hard way. Bridge to Commander Cole"

"Cole here Colonel"

"Ronan is on his way down to your location with a landing party, beaming tech is off-line. Use that jumper of yours to get them down to the planet fast. Looks like one hell of a battle zone down their, look for survivors. We'll send a wing of 302s as escort and to scan the surrounding area, someone may have gotten out during the attack"

"Yes Ma'am, on it. Cole out"

Shock still running through her she looked around the bridge.

"Umm Barker, launch a buoy to scan the other side of the planet, just in case something is hiding on the other side"

"Buoy launched Colonel, receiving telemetry… ETA five minutes thirty seconds"

Escorted by six F-302 fighters, the Jumper left the hanger and deployed its drive pods before setting course for the planet below, cutting through the Atmosphere like a knife they made a quick pass over the mountain before landing near the rear entrance while the fighters broke off and made slow and low passes over the surrounding area in the event that any of the staff had made it out before the base was attacked. Exiting the Jumper in full combat equipment the team of eight entered the facility, the foul stench of smoke and burnt flesh filled their lungs as they entered coughing slightly.

"It smells bad"

"Burnt flesh, recognise it anyplace"

"You sure Dex?"

"You never forget that smell Cole. At least we have some light in here"

"Yeah. From the fires still burning. I think it's this way to the Gateroom"

Slowly and cautiously they climbed over the debris and rubble as they walked deeper into the destroyed facility. Bodies lined the floors and rooms in all directions as they removed the dog tags of each of the military personnel. Slowly Cole stopped at one of the fallen and crouched down as she carefully removed the tags, she seemed upset for a brief moment as Ronan stepped to her side.

"Cole, you knew him?"

"Yeah, I did. Frank Morgan, we trained together for the First Defence Wing on the Nimitz, He was my second before he was transferred here to lead his own Squad. _SHIT_ He was a great guy, he had a wife and twin girls… beautiful girls about 12 now"

"I'm sorry Cole" He said with a low sad voice.

Slowly she stood and looked up into the large alien's eyes as she replied.

"Well, nothing I can for him now right. We should be close to the Gateroom now, maybe someone is…"

A voice called out in the distance that caught her attention, it was a male voice, desperate yet weak.

"Hello? Anyone here?"

"Ssshhhh, you hear that?" She said.

"I do, that way" He signalled.

Cautiously they moved towards the sound of the voice as it got louder.

"Hello? I'm in here. Help!"

Quickly yet cautiously they began to remove rocks and debris from a large pile as more of the team began to appear and assist, as they pulled anything they could move a hand appeared from under the rocks reaching out for them.

"It's okay, we see you. Stay still. Are you okay?"

"Fine, just get me the hell out of here" The voice said quickly.

"We're working on it"

Finally the last peace was moved as a man began to climb out of the wreckage and looked up. His nose was broken, cuts and bruises around his face and hands as managed to climb out and stand on his own two feet as Ronan grabbed him.

"Thank you… Ronan?"

Cole stepped forward with a slight smile on her face as she recognised the man stood before her from the many files she had read on the SGC.

"Doctor Jackson?"

"What's left of him…" Slowly his eyes wandered to the body in the far corner. "Ahh shit, Morgan. You stupid bastard, you should have stayed with me"

"What the hell are you doing here? I thought you where on Earth" Cole said quickly.

"Who are you?"

"Ohh, Commander Cole… I see you've met Ronan"

"Yeah, old friends. We should really get out of here, this place could come down on us at any time"

"What's the matter Jackson, Third time you'd ascend?" Ronan said with a smile.

"Funny! A mountain fell on my head and he's taking shots at me. We should… really get out of here"

Slowly the group exited the room as Jackson looked around while he wiped the blood from his face.

"What happened Jackson?"

"Well, We picked up two ships exiting hyperspace above the planet, then all hell broke loose. Before we could get any fighters airborne they started shooting. Morgan pulled me out of the Gateroom before the roof fell in, we couldn't get to a 302 so we tried to get out, we got cut off from everyone else. He saw the roof was about to fall in so he pushed me into a small room before it fell on him, the Human Alliance doesn't have that much firepower"

"It wasn't them, we got information that the Lucian Alliance is involved some how. My guess is it was them" Ronan replied.

"What?"

"Jackson, where is General Mitchell?" Cole said.

"He went back to earth yesterday, he was the lucky one. Wait how did you get here? I thought the gate was buried"

"We got a ship in orbit, we took a jumper down. Hang on. Cole to the Hammond"

"Carter here, Status?"

"The Alpha site is completely destroyed Ma'am. We found only one survivor so far. He says the gate is buried I doubt we can g much further. Request instructions"

"302s haven't picked anyone else up. We launched a sensor drone to scan the far side of the planet, all is clear. Return to the ship… it's time we got the hell out of here. The president is getting annoying"

Laughing slightly Cole nodded as Ronan lead the team out of the destroyed facility.

"Understood, on our way, Cole out. Doctor, I thought you where on Earth"

Carefully she lead him out of the mountain as he replied.

"I was dropped off here by the Sun Tzu a few days ago. A team found an unusual artefact that dated back before the Ancients them selves"

"Cool, anything?"

"I didn't get a chance to finish my work…" Slowly he reached into his jacket. "But I did save it for later"

"Nice!" She said quickly.

The ride back to the ship was an uneventful one as the F-302s landed in the port hanger the Jumper slowly touched down in the Starboard side, it was a happy reunion for Jackson and Carter as they hugged and laughed. Finally the USS Hammond was heading back to earth after stopping off at the nearest safe planet with a Stargate as it was joined by the Sun Tzu. Finally the transporters where once again operational as the President and his part beamed down to meet the SG team sent to escort them home, Doctor Jackson beamed down with the rest General Sheppard and his former team members while Commander Cole exited the vessel in the Hybrid Jumper. Although it would have been easier to take the jumper back to Earth aboard the Hammond, since she had heard of the Jumper she had always wanted to pilot the vessel through the Stargate. Laughing slightly Sheppard agreed, although he would not be onboard the ship with her. After arriving back at Atlantis the rescue party was given full honours by the President and the surviving heads of state of many countries, yet they had no idea that deep inside Atlantis the battle still raged on as the boarding teams swept through the city in search of something.

With the upload complete Jack closed the laptop and smiled at his wife.

"That's it. Take this back to the ship, I have one more thing to take care of"

"Of course, be careful"

"Always am…" He said with a wink.

Quickly he gathered three men with him and lead them out of the large room and disappeared around the corner. As they encountered resistance within the city they somehow managed to fight past them until they reach a holding cell. Smiling Jack entered the room and deactivated the forcefeild around the door.

"I see they discovered who you are?"

"Not really kid, they didn't like me I guess"

"I told you it was a stupid idea, but then again…"

Quickly he drew his gun and fired three shots into the chest of the man stood before him.

"… Neither do I!"

Smiling to himself he turned and ran down the corridor stepping over bodies as he finally found the sub he entered the city on, as he entered the vessel he looked at his wife and kissed her slightly.

"My Dad?"

"Dead when I found him" He said with a dark look in his eyes.

Tears welled in her eyes she nodded slowly and turned away from him.

"They'll pay for his death Gem, I promise you. Bridge this is Jack, we're all onboard… cut moorings and lets get the hell out of here"

"Aye sir" A voice called out.

In the Control centre of Atlantis McKay had finally sat down in his favourite seat overlooking the gate as he attempted to scan beyond the hull of the unknown submarine, he almost dropped his coffee as he looked into the display before him.

"_GENERAL MITCHELL!_ You should see this"

Before he even a chance to turn around to locate the man, he was standing at his side leaning in to look at the screen. The submarine had broken away from the city and beginning to surface slowly revealing more of the vessel, Mitchell's eyes widened as his jaw dropped while the vessel broke from the surface and became airborne, a hyperspace window appeared to the rear of the vessel as it disappeared quickly leaving a violent wake in the water that rocked the floating city.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Mitchell, it wasn't a sub…"

"Yeah I got that part McKay, It was a damned starship. Can you track it's course?"

"What am I, the Amazing McKay… Alright, I'll try" He grunted.

"Try harder, or you'll find yourself swimming home"

Six hours had past since the unknown vessel disappeared, with every allied ship on the look out for the unknown vessel and repairs underway on Atlantis, it seemed as if it's crew could breath a sigh of relief. The aerial battle above the city had come to end after the vessel had disappeared, technicians and specialist had ran threw every system they could find in an attempt to find out what the boarding party was after. With first watch over, Mitchell had left the control centre tired as he found isolated quarters away from the crowded city, sat in the control room McKay yawned as he continued in his attempt to scan for the unknown vessel while he rechecked his scans on the ship it's self in an attempt to find out where it came from. From the corner of his eye he saw Commander Cole sat at a console reading the many reports that came past her screen. Slowly her jaw dropped as the blood drained from her face.

"McKay… umm, get everyone up. Do I now!

"What? Do you have any idea what time it is?" He said with a tired voice.

"_SCREW THE TIME. GET THEM UP NOW!"_ She yelled.

Fifteen minutes later, General Mitchell, General Sheppard, Ronan Dex, Rodney McKay, Doctor Beckett and The President sat in the briefing room as Commander Cole stood up and took a deep breath.

"I apologise for getting you all up this early, especially after the day we've all had"

"No problem Commander…" Mitchell yawned. "I was about to get up in seven hours anyway"

"I was monitoring subspace transmissions while reviewing the many reports. I picked up a signal from a Free Jaffa Nation vessel…"

"Do you have a point Commander?" Sheppard sighed.

"Forgive me sir, yes I do. The vessel picked up a short range distress call from the USS Hammond, they… they got to them as quickly as possible. The Sun Tzu has been destroyed, the Hammond has been holed and burning in space…"

The room feel silent as she continued.

"They picked up as many survivors as possible, Colonel Carter was not amongst them. I'm sorry"

The End.

Story By:

Ariston 1

I have an idea for a Part Two, If you want to read it.


End file.
